Bottom-filler for boots and shoes.



M. T. wHmNG L F. LOGAN.

BOTTOM FILLER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES,

APPLiAHoN man sem. 22. 191e.

1,263,499. Patented Apr. 23,1918.

LSS W" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE T. WRITING, 0F NEEDHAM, AND EDWARD F. LOGAN, OEE' LYNN, MASSACHU- SETTS, ASSIGNOBS T0 THE BARRETT COMPANY, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A

OOB?OBATION 0F MAINE.

BOTTOM-FILLER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Bpecltlcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

To ali wlw/1fA 'it may concern.'

Be 1t known that we, MAURion T. Wnrrd ING and EDw/mn F. LooAN. citizens of the United States, residing at Needham andV Lynn, respectively, in the counties of No1 folk and Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bottom-Fillers for Boots and Shoes` of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in bottom illcrs for boots and shoes. More particularly it relates to the means for tilling the space in the midst of the sole, bctween the inner soleI and the outer sole and between the edges of the upper which are turned in between these Iwo soles. For filiing this space various materials ha ve heretov fore been used, such as felt, leather board, and, most commonly at the present time, a pasty compound ofrork, sawdust and the like with some cement or other Huid` ingredient which permits the whole mass to harden after being pressed into the space. These various devices are used instead of leather because of `the stringent necessity of keeping down the cost of finished product. But they have the characteristic defects that they are fragile and friable, and are subject t0 other objections. Among these other objections are,ithat when slices containing felt, paper or board fillers are Worn in the wet, and moisture has passed through the sole, the tiller acts as a sponge or Wick which abm Sorbs and holds the moisture there, so that even after the outer sole has dried that part. of the sole which is near the Wearers foot remains moist because of the dampness retained in the filler. The same is true whei'i leather skivings are used. It is true that paste fillings may embody 'materials that are more or less waterproof, but they also embody materials which are more or less soluV` ble, or which crack so as to permit the pas sage of moisture or which if not hard. enough to be brittle, are suiiiciently soft and fluid so that under the heat of the wearers .foot and the repeated iexure which they undergo, they lose their proper form and compact themselves into places between the soles where the pressure is least, making bellows and bunches which are disagreeable and even ainful as -Well as causing shortening of the iife of the shoe.

The present y invention accomplishes the triple purpose ot' providing a filler which dur-ably retains its HeXibility Without shifting its forni or position in the sole; of being waterproof and permanently non-absorbent, while being flexible and becoming neither brittle nor crumbly; and of being relatively lonY in cost. These objects are accomplished by providing a sheet o1 felt of suitable thicknes-s. depending upon the thickness of the space to be tillcd; saturating the saniewith bituminous material of such a quality of softness as is permanently flexible at ordinary temperatures,r notwithstanding the thickness of the mass; coating both sides of this saturated felt with a layer of bituminous nxaterial of a suliieient degree of tenacity, so that it cinistitutes a cover or fiexible sheil holding the softer bituminous niaterial in place among the fibers of the felt: and cutting this composite sheet by dies into pieces of the proper shape and size to fit approximately the said spaces Within the bot.- toms oshoes. The o eration of cutting can be performed throng a number of thicknesses of the sheets at once. -As the manu- AFacture of the sheet. can be carried out byI machinery which is' practically automatic, the elements of cost in manufacture are eX- tremely low so far as labor is concerned and as the eut pieces can be made so as to fit pretty accurately the space in the shoe bottom, the cost of labor of inserting one is pracricaily negligible. A n embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the aecompanying drawing, in which,

Figure l is a plan of lille'r;

Fig.' 2 is a .side elevation thereof, with thicknesses exaggcra ted for the sake of olea rness; and

Fig. 3 shows the filler arranged in a shoe.

Referring to the drawings, the conimiuglcd bituminous material and felted fibers are secu conventionally indicated at 1f); and confining layers of harder bitumi nousy nmtcrial. adhering to the fibrous and to the interior bituminous material are marked 11 and l2. lu the process of manuvtzu-ture ot' the tillerI a web of felt or suitable similar material is passed through a bath (if molten bituminous material of such quality and temperature that'in the bath it is suiiieicntly liquid to penetrate thoroughly and to saturate the web of fritz and yet to solidify therein upon the :nucl-genre of the web from the bath. As is we ll known,

Vsources and compositions.

"thoroughly, and yet which is sutliciently mobile to he capable of being bent repeatedly without breaking as its libers bend with each step of the wearer ot the shoes. It results from this, when the further .stages of th'eprocess have been carried out, that the *greater portion of the filler is a bed of felt,

exihle. when subjected to bending stresses and so compressible as' to have n1 some degree the qualities of arushion, but not ex-y tensible in the direction of its length or breadth, because of the entanglement of the ers'with each other and because of the cementing and obstructing vaction of the bituminous solid filling in'the spaces'between the fibers. The interlacing of the bers within the felt stops it from expanding materially in thickness. The web which has been throu h the saturating bath, andwhose absorbed contents is cooled and solidified ma then'be passed through compressing rol ers where a layer of heated liquid bituminous material is spreadV over it of such quality as solidifies when it cools, into a skin havin a distinct quality of tenacity. The heat of t is material when it is applied as amolten layer, softens the surface part of the bituminous material in the saturated web, and, these two bituminous materials How together and make a joint or union 'whch 1s analogous to welded joints of metals. At the same time the added molten 4materialbecomes attached to those fibers of the felt which are at the surface of tht- Web. The compressing roller may give thisx material any superficial forni desired, either a Smooth surface ora surface, with diamond shaped or pebbly elevations. or a surface having any other characteristic, it beingI understood that no great ditl'erenccof eleva` tion is referred to but only enough to be manifest to the eye and touch, and to provide a` slightly rough surface. The other side of the web may be likcwisil coated, with a layer o l' the harder bituminous material. The web is then ready to be rut into Dicci-f1: of the desired shape and size lo lill the upfuzus in fhc hoot oi" shoe bottoms. This cutting may `be accomplished by dies,y acting upon sheets scrcial tolds thick.

'Flic inishcil product has the ,g'riulnl characteristic of a Sheet cushion proie-chal by n tough 4skin of bituminous umleral which is connor-,tod integrally to tbll #ollmg less tough and .somewhat more llm'ibhin terior of btuminuos material and is attached also to the surface fibers of the web. Hence the product as a whole is a composite sheet in which the arts are firmly held together by inherent c iaracteristics, Without the aid of glue or the like and without either the initial cost of glue or the subsequent danger of its softening or of its stitlening and becoming brittle. Moisture cannot penetrate the material nor can it work its way in be tween the various layers composing it. Ina smuch as the filler is ordinarily only an approximate fit for the space left by the inturned edges of the upper, it does not absolutcly prevent the passage of, water through the sole of the boot or shoe; but this is an objection of no consequence, for even if it were entirely to lill thatlispace moisture might still pass through the leather immediately outside of the liller; but it. has thc great advantage that it dovsnot absorb and hold any moisture that enters through the leather, and also that it preyentslpassa e of moisture through the middle part o the sole. lVhile its surface may be. either rough or smooth at pleasure, it is thought by some that in usage it wears into a better fit when its surface isI originally a little rough. In any event however, it prevents the developmentiof a squeak in the sole, such as frequently arises from `friction when because it never becomes hard and rittle and partly because it can adapt itself somewhat to the adjacent curvature and surfaces of outer or inner solo and can yield more or less under the stresses imposed upon it when the shoe is bent.

Fillers made according to the invention are particularly useful in connection with light weight boots and shoes, either of Goodyear welt style` or those which are flexible MacKay scwed. 1When vso placed it provides a cushion filler which hacks up the outer sole in such a way that thin material can be used for it, and also thin material for the inner solo, without the sole as a whole seeming to lack substance and without the outer soleivearing through any more rapidly than it would do naturally, according to its qual ity and thicknessybeing in this respect unlike the fillers made which are in such genA Voral use today consisting of cork dust, sawdust, resin', wax tailings, and the like, which crumble and then roll forward into the toe and backward into the shank leaving the solo subject to unequal stresses and causing it to wear out. earlier than it should. Fur- |hcr|r.ore ity is 'free from objections, which are important-from the standpoint of shoe manufacturers, in that its use by them rcquiros no steam heated kottlcs or inflammable materials that can only be used hot, or wilh danger of lire from spontaneous combustion, or which occasionally cause 4llers of other type are used. This is artly lli) dark staim on the finished bottoms. While vthe particular form ot the invention described is deemed preferable, it will be obvious that variations may be made.

1. The Combination, in'a shoe, of an inner sole, an outer sole, and a flexible, composite and trong \;l \v coherent body sepa 'ating them, comprising a layer of telt impregnated with bituminous material and a layer of tough bitunlinong material constituting a facing for land fused to the said i1npregnatingr bituminous material.

The combination, in :t shoe, of an inner wie, an out er solo. and a flexible, composite and strongly coherent cushion separating them, having interim-ly felt and a relatively soi't bituminous material im] iregnating the. telt. and having extcrorly a tough and relatively hard bituminous layer 'fused to the impregnated bituminoubmaterial.

3. The combination. in a shoe, of an inner sole. an outer sole, and an intervening composite body haring a layer of combined felt and bituminous material and filmy layers of material of relatively great tenacity adhering to each side thereof and exposed to rubbing on flexure of the soles.

4. The combination, in a shoe, of an inner sole, an outer sole, and an intervening stratified body havinf)r an interionlayer of combined felt and bituminous material and having exterior bituminous layers adhering strongly thereto but not to the adjacent soles, and being of a igh degree of density and tenacity such as may result from compression of the strata together.

Signed by us at Boston, Mass., this 16th da) ot' September, 1916.

MAURICE T. YVHITING. EDVARD F. LOGAN. Witnesses:

JOSEPH T. BRENNAN. MAmoX T. GRACE. 

